Olympic Training Olympic Torture
by reader-chic-2
Summary: Nico di Angelo was the snowboarding prodigy just barely old enough to compete in the next Olympics. Six months before, he agreed to train under Chiron in Telluride, Colorado. Conveniently, his biggest competition, Will Solace, was also moving to Telluride to train under Chiron. The only difference between them? Will had recently been outed while Nico was still in the closet.
1. Chapter 1

**Olympic Training Olympic Torture**

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything except the plot.**

**A/N: this will be about a 4/5 AU chapter story. I hope you enjoy :) **

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Nico didn't consider himself a lucky person. Great things didn't happen to him by chance. Great things only happened to him through hard work and avoiding all unlucky obstacles. He took pride in the great things in his life. Being the next Olympic snowboarding prodigy was one of those things. But that was also why he was _so_weary when the world-renown Olympic snowboarding trainer, Chiron, called him up out of the blue and asked him if he'd like to train with him.

Things like that simply didn't happen to him.

It came with only a few minor downfalls. He would have to move from Jackson Hole to Big Sky. Nico wasn't a huge fan of change, and he was sort of dreading leaving his sisters behind. But he was an adult, and he had two friends already training there for Alpine and slopestyle. The second downfall…Nico was sure to come. Maybe he'd be attacked by a bear. Maybe he'd break a leg and be put out of the running for the Olympics, which was only _months _away.

"Yes, Bianca, I made it. I see Chiron right now – yes, I know it's him – yes, there's four other people there." Nico spoke into the phone. He was struggling with his bags. Since he was staying there for six months, and possibly longer depending on how well Chiron and he worked together and how well he performed in the coming months, he was basically moving in. He'd shipped all that he could, but that had been weeks ago, and he'd needed his board and gear for practice. So he was carrying his gear, his suitcase, and his carryon all together, and it was weighing him down.

Chiron was a man with a thick beard who always wore a long winter coat down past his knees. He had kind eyes, which was rare in an Olympic-level coach. It didn't make Nico doubt him, though. He'd seen him turn his friend's girlfriend, Piper, from decent to bronze material at the Olympics.

"Nico di Angelo! Nice to finally meet you in the flesh!" Chiron offered him a hug, which made Nico stiffen. They broke apart quickly. "I see you're quite weighed down there. You sure you've been working out?"

Nico snorted, "I get that a lot. Every day, six to eight at night."

Chiron glanced behind him wearily. He recognized two of the guys – Percy and Jason. The three of them grew up skiing together in Jackson Hole, and they both called him a traitor for switching to snowboarding before he even turned seven. They'd been great friends ever since.

Beside them, however, stood two new people. "Nico, you know Percy and Jason. These two, though, I don't believe you're familiar with."

The girl he wasn't familiar with at all. She looked hardcore and very frightening. Her grey eyes were studying Percy and Jason in a way that made him feel like they'd said something stupid. "This is Annabeth Chase. One of the fastest mogul times in the world."

They nodded professionally at each other.

Then, there was a third blonde, though his hair was caught back in a toboggan. It didn't hide his image any less. Nico knew who this was. Everyone knew who this was. Will Solace. Amazing boarder. A god on slopestyle. Weak in the halfpipe. Won silver for USA at the last Olympics. More recently, however, he was thrust back into the limelight for the paparazzi catching him making out with a guy in a dark alley. So Will was forced out of the closet. He'd stood his ground for a while, but the media really got on him hard. He stopped posting on social media, stopped doing interviews after any competitions unless he won, stopped everything. Nico wouldn't doubt the reason he was here now was to start fresh. That, and Big Sky had LGBT flags running down most streets in the village at the base of the mountain.

Nobody told Nico Will was coming to train with them.

"I'm sure you've heard of Will Solace, of course. Silver medalist at the last Olympics-,"

"-and gold at the next," Will stepped forward and winked at him. Nico's heart lurched out of his chest at the damn boldness of this guy. They'd never met before, despite them both competing with each other a number of times, but two could play at this game.

Nico smirked and stepped equally as close. "Not if I have anything to say about it."

Their eyes clashed for a few long moments. While Nico phased to be in a deep competitive stare, truly he was pondering how bright those blue eyes were. They sparked something inside Nico. He was going to go with a competitive streak, sure, why not?

Then, Will broke into a grin. "Alright then." He held out his hand and they did a bro handshake-into-hug. His hug was firm. Nico liked it, however fleeting it was.

"Neeks' got some trouble," Percy came up and ruffled his shoulders. Nico shoved him off.

"A little healthy competition, right, boys?" Chiron was beaming. "I'm also training Piper McClean. Come along. I'll explain the facilities on the way. Since the skiers train in the same facilities, I've offered to take them as well."

"And tweedle-dee and tweedle-dumb? They've been here for months," Annabeth grumbled, obviously annoyed at having to spend an hour car ride from Montrose with them.

"Had to meet our boy Nico!" Percy wrapped an arm around Nico for a second time, for which he again shoved off. Percy and Jason questioned Nico about his personal life, which he expertly avoided answering with ease. Then they switched over to snow-related topics, something he was much more comfortable with. They only thing they were truly good for were carrying his bags.

Chiron drove a large van, but with everyone's last remaining gear (because no Olympic athlete ever has under ten boards/skis) the van was nearly overflowing with cargo. To Nico's annoyance, he was squished between Jason and Will. Annabeth sat up front, and Percy was lost behind a mountain of bags at Annabeth's request.

"You know, mogul skiers and slopestyle skiers aren't too different," Percy felt the need to point out as they began their journey. Jason disguised his laughter as a cough.

"Mhmm," Annabeth sighed with no interest.

"I can just do bigger tricks, but I'm sure you could, too, given the speed and all."

The tension rolling off Annabeth made the fact that Nico's leg was touching Will's all the more awkward. "Speed? You know nothing about speed, Jackson."

"I used to do Alpine skiing. We all started somewhere, Chase."

"Enough you two," Chiron sent a glare towards the backseat, but Percy was too far under the pile of cargo to see him. "I'm sure your past training facilities worked in the general same fashion, but we are particularly crowded this year for obvious reasons. Because of that, we run a strict schedule. Your workouts will be one-on-one, of course, with the best personal trainers we have. However, you'll be sharing the gym with others in random order. Sometimes, the trainers like to work you all together, in your best interest. Most will be in the mornings before nine, which is when the slopes open up. For those working on the halfpipe, we keep that open as late as ten at night, as well as slopestyle."

"Figures," Annabeth snorted.

Chiron winced sympathetically. "It is rather unfortunate, but it does mean you get higher preference over your scheduling."

"It was a snowboarding place in the first place, Annie. Get used to it." How was Percy not terrified by those eagle-like eyes?

"I'm going to shove my pole up your ass the next time you call me that."

"Ooh, kinky. I like it."

Will let out a high-pitched giggle. Nico raised an eyebrow. He could very much understand why he was laughing. He just didn't want everyone else to know that's where his mind was going.

"What?" Percy asked, leaning forward, but he still couldn't be seen by anyone.

Will let out a true laugh now, holding his hand over his mouth futilely. His laugh was so light and airy, so pure. It was infectious. One side of Nico's mouth lifted slightly. He couldn't help it. Will looked at him and burst out into ground-shaking laughter, and Nico joined in with calm, giddy chuckles. He was both amused and pleased at having been given a chance to witness Will in his candid, beautiful prime.

"What are you two laughing about?" Jason hissed with a pout. Nico focused on sobering up; he was _never_like this.

"Dude, what?" Percy held a tone of self-consciousness that made the entire scene even better. Nico turned to Will and fell over laughing so hard. He could hardly hold himself together. He didn't even care that his head was on Will's lap, and Will was pounding on his back as he laughed just as hard.

It was too funny picturing Percy Jackson with something up his butt. As two men whom, presumably, had things up their butt, multiple times, for pleasure…Jackson just didn't have it in him. He wasn't the type and he definitely didn't have the pain tolerance. Nico once saw him try out the halfpipe for fun on a visit back to Jackson Hole, and he fell on his back on the first flip. He slid down the entire half-pipe not moving and with tears streaming down his face.

"Boys," Chiron warned from up front. Annabeth's shoulders were shaking with silent laughter. At least they got it. Jason and Percy were still clueless, and Nico enjoyed that knowledge. "As I was saying, training is done during the day. It changes from day to day. Nico and Will, you'll have plenty of one-on-one sessions with me, but a big part of the day of just pure practice will be on the halfpipe. Piper and you three will just rotate, see me after for critique, and then go again."

Nico grinned. He'd heard their halfpipe was kept in prime condition every day, no matter what. "I'm guessing I can't get you to budge about the early ass workouts?"

Will elbowed him. "More time on the slopes."

"Less time to rest my aching muscles."

"Psh, what muscles?" A twinkle had formed in Will's eye as he spoke. Nico rolled his eyes. "No worries, Chiron. Our apartments are basically next to each other, right? I'll drag his ass out of bed in the mornings."

Nico bit his lip to keep from retorting in a sexual way because, damn, he could hear a sexual threat there. Maybe it was just the fact that Will was the first openly gay snowboarder he'd met before, or because he was gorgeously attractive, but Nico could not stop thinking about him in his bed in the mornings, waking him up in a more creative way than shaking him awake.

"How do you know where I live? I don't even know where I live."

"All the athletes live in the same apartment complex. I've grouped you two and Piper near each other in hopes one of you is an early riser and can get that blasted girl out of bed before nine."

"Hey, it's not always her fault. Jason tends to keep her-,"

"Jackson, don't get me started on you," Jason jerked violently. Nico grinned. They were the same, always striving to ruin the other's lives. Percy was the constant player. Jason was the relationship king. And together, they were hell.

"Jason, I swear," Percy hissed so quietly Nico hardly heard. "Don't." He was oddly serious. It made Nico curious what was going on in his head. Then, he wanted to gag because nobody should venture on the task of figuring out what Percy was thinking.

"Lastly," Chiron interrupted, "there will mandatory yoga classes at the end of the day. Your preference of at seven or eight. We need your muscles relaxed and ready for the next day without injury."

Nico nodded. He was exhausted from all the plane rides and layovers. There was a lot of new information and feelings. He sought out his phone for the time and groaned.

"I've been up for over twenty-eight hours."

"Ouch. I slept on the flights," Will said. Nico shook his head. He'd never been able to sleep on planes. He hated flying, yet he flew a lot. "We still have forty-five minutes. Take a nap."

Nico was about to open his mouth and ask him where the fuck he suggested he do that, but then Will patted his own shoulder. Nico frowned, cautious of the rest of the group around them. Will leaned forward and spoke almost in his ear. "What? Scared of me?"

Nico scoffed. "You wish." Then, he leaned his head on Will's shoulder, which was cushioned by his plump jacket.

"Nah. I really don't," Will whispered in a soothing voice. Nico would have analyzed that tiny sentence for the rest of the ride, but his eyes were already closed.

. . .

There were fingers running through his hair. Nico opened his eyes. He was staring at the backseat of a car. "Nico," a voice whispered, and it took him a second to recognize it as Will's. "We need to go."

Upon the realization that Nico's head was _resting in Will Solace's lap_, Nico jolted upright and hit his head on a piece of luggage that was jutting out. "Ow."

There was laughter coming from his side. "You really were out of it, huh?" Nico hadn't noticed before in his sleepy state that he had a slight accent. It was a faint southern draw, very much suppressed, but it slipped out on some words.

"Yeah," Nico mumbled, rubbing his head.

"Well, we're here. Percy and Jason already started moving our stuff in. Well, Jason is helping us. Percy is helping Annabeth, though it may be at the expense of his penile function." Will listed off the things so casually, Nico almost missed that last part. Then, it hit him, and he gagged a little.

"Do you have to be so – proper about it? Just say his dick shit."

Will's eyes flashed between his two with amusement. "Really? You want me to talk about dicks? Whose? Yours or mine?"

The balls on this kid. Nico looked around, noticing that they were alone for the moment. He leaned back closer into Will, speaking in a deeper voice than usual. "Yours. And mine. Together."

Will, clearly not expecting such a racy response back, gaped at him. His cheeks were so red, and Nico could only imagine the images flashing through his mind. "Y – th-that's not fair! You can flirt with me so easily because you _know_I'm gay. I just have to pray here!"

Nico smirked. This was exactly where he wanted Will. Unsure what to do with his hot competition, shamelessly flirting would be an enjoyable, long stage. Nico patted Will's leg and pushed away. "Keep praying, Sunshine."

"Y – oh, this isn't over," Will climbed out of the car and slammed his door furiously. Nico smiled to himself. A frustrated Will Solace was hard to find. Normally, he was incredibly level headed, even after a major fall.

"Promise?" Nico winked, and Will threw a glove at the back of his head.

Will Solace. Very interesting.

. . .

His apartment was the perfect size for him. It had a roomy bedroom with its own full bath, a medium sized kitchen, a small living room, a second hall bathroom, and an extra guest room. There was also a large closet right by the backdoor, which opened up straight to their training facilities.

It was much nicer than living with his parents.

Nico knew Will wasn't kidding when he said he'd wake him up, so he somehow managed to pull his ass out of bed and beat the blonde to workouts.

"Nico di Angelo?" A Latina girl with a deadly look that could rival Annabeth's walked up to him. She was ripped. That was obvious. "I'm Reyna, your personal trainer. I also train Piper, so never count on working out with her. Hylla trains your fellow competitor, Will Solace. They'll be here somewhere. Sometimes, we'll throw you two together. Make it a real competition."

Nico nodded, though that fact scared him. He wasn't weak by any means, but Solace was ripped. He'd seen an Instagram post of his at the beach; he was ripped.

"Well. Let's get started," she clapped her hands with an evil grin.

Nico soon found out that her evil grin was rightly given. His legs were shot. His butt was aching. He could hardly manage to walk. "Great workout, Nico," she said as she shoved him toward the exit. He stumbled through the door and landed outside in the snow, but he didn't move. This was nice. He was sweaty, and this felt great. Besides, the cold numb sort of counteracted the lactic acid numb.

"Are you wearing leggings?" Percy's voice was very underappreciated. Nico nodded, moving his legs in attempt of feeling them again. "Hey, Will! Look! Nico's got a bigger ass than you!"

Nico wanted to turn around and cover his butt, but he also had no energy to move. He settled with a muffled, "Fuck you," to Percy as footsteps neared him.

"Damn," Will whistled. At least he had the decency to sound somewhat out of breath. "Why does it matter though? Mine's bigger than yours, Percy."

He could practically see the dumbfounded look on his face. "Well – uh – you know…cause you're gay and he's not. You'd think you'd need to have a bigger butt."

Will laughed. "Nah. You can be gay with or without an ass. This just means I get something nice to look at."

He slapped Nico's butt for emphasis. That caused Nico to scream in pain. "Ooo, leg day? Come on, Neeks. We have training in an hour. Didn't she roll you out?"

Nico turned around and stared daggers at him. "I hate you."

Percy left to trail after Annabeth, who'd just exited the facilities looking like she'd taken a swim. "You _do _have a nice ass, though," Will said in a low voice that did something to Nico he struggled to repress.

Nico shoved himself to his feet, shivering from the cold he now felt. "I know."

Will beamed at him. "You're so gay."

"In your dreams, maybe," Nico responded with ease.

"I mean, I get the whole not-coming-out thing. No biggie." Will continued as they walked towards their apartments. Nico noticed how Will was angling himself towards Nico's. "Trust me, I didn't want to come out either. But if you told me, it could be our secret. Wouldn't it be sweet, too? An openly gay dude winning gold and a closeted one winning silver at the Olympics? Sick, man."

"You keep assuming you'll win. Don't you remember? I wiped the floor with your ass at the X Games," Nico pointed out as Will barged into his apartment after him. Nico sighed. "I don't have food yet."

Will grabbed his hand. "Perfect. My place." He dragged him into the hallway and turned directly left. His room was _right beside his. _Great. "But I couldn't win everything. That's just rude."

Nico threw his head back in laughter. "My ass."

Will bounced into the kitchen. His apartment was an exact replica of Nico's. "Why didn't you compete at the Olympics four years ago again?"

"Too young."

"Young? Shit dude. You're, like, eighteen, right?" Nico nodded with a rueful smile. "Good. I'd prefer not to feel like a pedophile."

Blush rushed through Nico's cheeks. It'd been a while since a guy flirted so openly with him. He'd never really felt something like this before. He didn't know how to react. "Just turned eighteen two weeks ago."

Will smiled. "Happy belated." He pulled out some eggs and began to scramble them. He also popped some bread into the toaster and pulled out some precooked bacon. "Chiron gave me a list of things I could eat. They're intense here."

Nico nodded. "My old trainer was pretty lax. I worked out on my own, ate along the lines of what he said…the only intense thing was the practice."

Will tilted his head to the side. "Mine wasn't that chill, but that sounds awesome."

"It was, but it's hurt me. I don't fall like you idiots do – ever, and I can get major air, but I'm lacking in the skills," Nico scoffed. Will sent him a teasing look.

"Yeah? Well, I hear Chiron's the best. And if he fails ya, you always have me," Will looked over his shoulder and winked. Nico held his gaze until the eggs started crackling. Flustered, he focused back on the food.

Nico waited until they began eating to ask him. And he wasn't going to lie, it was good food. "Why'd you come here?"

Will's face morphed into a knowingly amused look. "Aside from the great trainer, I think you know why."

Nico shrugged. "I do." Will nodded, stuffing more bread into his mouth and looking away. Nico nudged him with his foot. "People are shitty."

"People are shitty," Will repeated sadly, but it seemed like his comment helped. They finished breakfast in silence, and Nico wasn't sure how he felt about the whole ordeal. It felt like it would quickly become a routine.

Nico ran into Jason on the way out. He was hanging outside of what Nico assumed was Piper's door. Jason raised his eyebrows at him in question. "Have something to say?"

"Nope," he popped the 'p' and continued knocking on the door. "Pipes, Nico and Will haven't even dressed yet. Come on! Just one!"

A girl with caramel brown hair and vibrant full eyes yanked the door open. Nico didn't pay as much attention to the female boarders, but he knew of Piper; she was that good. "Jason, if you think I'm in any mood to do a quickie after working out, you're trashed. Secondly, the last time – oh, you're Nico right? I'm Piper. Thank goodness you and Will are here. Chiron's about worn me out on my own."

Nico smiled tightly. Piper was half dressed. Literally, she had on her boots and everything, but there was no shirt. Just a bra.

She extended her hand, so he shook it. "Yeah, I'll see you out there then."

He turned around with a confused expression on his face. "You could have put on a shirt," Jason laughed, walking into her apartment. Nico got the feeling just because she'd said no, Jason was about to change her answer. Ew.

"For Nico?" Piper scoffed. Nico slowed his pace down to catch her words. "Yeah right."

The door closed, so he continued on his way. Maybe Piper knew something nobody else did. The question was, how?

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**A/N: What are your thoughts? There may be a few mistakes (I switched where they're living about ten times so I might have missed one), but overall, let me know your thoughts on the story! How did I write the characters? Where do you see the plot going?**

**I have this almost finished, so I'll update it in a few days (unless you guys motivate me to do it sooner ;)**

**:)**


	2. Chapter 2

**Part 2**

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything except plot.**

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Nico was sweating his ass off. Today, Chiron had said they'd just 'mess around' on the halfpipe. Nico wanted to know his definition of mess around. He had him running down it constantly. On the way up, he held a radio where he told him how to improve. He hardly got to see Piper or Will except when they were on the halfpipe. And they were amazing. Will didn't get enough air, though. It was decent, but Nico could see just how much he lost while getting the right footing and such. And Piper? Piper tried everything. She fell more than half the time, but she sure as hell gave it her all.

By the end of the session, Chiron started telling him a few things to try. He'd taken off his coat, but even that didn't help him cool down from the constant runs. He started falling, too. He told Chiron he'd never done this shit, but Chiron said to do it anyways. It was getting on his nerves, honestly. He wasn't going to be able to sit on his butt for days after this one training session.

After a particularly bad fall, Nico let himself fall the rest of the way to the bottom of the halfpipe. He didn't even bother picking up his radio; he could hear it from there. When Will went, Chiron stopped yelling.

Nico stared up the halfpipe. Will could really board. He never missed his flips unless he ran out of airtime, which was common. Still, when he had a perfect run, it made Nico just stop and stare. And from his position on the ground, Nico could see under his helmet. The facial expressions he created with each jump made Nico's heart soar.

Will's final jump was so complex, Nico swore he got hard just watching him.

Panting, Will stopped by Nico and sprayed him with snow. Nico didn't even flinch. Will removed his goggles with a loud smile. "Chiron said to check on you."

"Tell him to fuck off."

Will offered him a hand up. "He's tough. Odd. He seemed like such a nice old man when he picked us up." Nico didn't remember grabbing his hand, but soon Will had yanked him up and onto his feet. "Piper said halfpipe days are the worst."

"Think he'll ever give us time to go up on the mountain? I've only been here once before."

Will shrugged. "I've never been."

They headed to the lift together, both ignoring Chiron's barking voice in the radios. "You seriously came here without even testing out the mountain?"

Will shrugged. "Just check out my Instagram comments sometime."

"Yeah, you stopped posting."

Will beamed at him, nearly running over somebody ahead of them. "You stalk me?"

Nico scowled. "No. My sister does. She's fourteen and thinks we'd 'make good friends' since we're always placing near each other at competitions."

Will snickered. "Good friends. Not _exactly_what I had in mind."

Nico glanced wearily at him as they undid one foot from their boards. "If you flirted this openly before, it's a wonder you weren't found out sooner."

Will gave a fake laugh, which made Nico grin. They pushed forward to the lift and waited for the chair to bring them back up to the top of the halfpipe. "Listen here you little shit-,"

The chair hit their butts and scooped them up, but absolute pain originated from his butt at the abrupt contact. "Fuck!" Nico clenched his butt, and he looked at Will with vengeance in his eyes. "Does your ass hurt as bad as mine? That fucking old horse…"

"Nah, but I'd be happy to give you a massage," Will continued to flirt, moving heat into Nico's already heated body. "Doesn't even have to end in a 'happy ending' if you don't want."

Nico shifted uncomfortably. "Dude. I'm tempted to take you up on that."

They rode to the top and got an earful from Chiron long enough for Piper to meet them there as well. In the end, he decided to let the three continue practicing on their own for a few hours until dinner/yoga.

Piper was smiling. "Yoga is really cool. Grover and Juniper teach it. It really is less yoga and more of a stretching our muscles thing."

"That's good. According to Nico, he can hardly sit on his butt right now."

"It's not a muscle thing! It's because I fell so many times my butt bone is bruised!"

"Your coccyx."

"My _what_?"

"That's what your butt bone is called," Will hopped to his feet with a grin. "See you at the bottom."

He took off with a holler of glee. Nico watched in annoyance as he flipped effortlessly through the air. "I want to kill him."

Piper laughed and helped Nico to his feet. "Or kiss him."

Nico scoffed, instinctively responding with, "In your dreams."

Piper smirked. "Or in yours."

With one last look of annoyance, he jumped down onto the halfpipe. Piper was nosey.

. . .

Nobody told Nico how this yoga thing worked. He'd never done it before. So when he walked into the room to see people partnered up, he was surprised he knew that was unusual.

"Hello, I'm Juniper. And you are?" She had green eyes and pastel green hair. Her skin was pale, and he swore it had a green tint to it.

"Nico di Angelo. Why-?"

"We find you more masculine male athletes are more eager to do yoga with a partner. Since you're new, though, we're short on female partners. We do have a male who requested you – if you don't mind."

Nico's eyes drifted over her shoulder to look for the blonde hair. He found it. "Let me guess. Will Solace?" She nodded eagerly. "Sure, whatever."

Will was sitting on a yellow yoga mat, which Nico found very fitting. He smiled sheepishly as Nico sat his water bottle down next to his. "Sorry. Percy said he'd get Jason's sister to take us up on the helicopter to the backcountry if we partnered up."

Nico stared at him for better explanation.

"Because now Annabeth is forced to partner up with him. He didn't have a partner before this. Apparently, the girls all reported him to Grover for sexual harassment."

"Whatever."

"Is that your favorite word?"

"Are you always this annoying?"

A loud brass bell rang from the front of the room. Nico spun around and noticed they were at the back of the room. That was comforting for Nico. Ahead of them, Percy was standing behind Annabeth as she glowered at Juniper. Jason had his arms wrapped around Piper. There was a hulky Asian dude who was standing as far away as he could get from another Asian girl, who was as pissed as all get out. Finally, the last pair was a dark-haired girl who reminded him so much of his older sister. She was speaking in hushed tones to the dark-skinned man beside her, and when he said man, he meant man. Nico couldn't figure out what that giant of a man was training for.

"Everyone, welcome our newest members, Will Solace, Nico di Angelo, and Annabeth Chase. I'm Grover and this is Juniper," said a chill white dude who had a smile that screamed 'I just smoked a gram of weed.' But then again, his eyes were too alight to be high, as if he'd just eaten his heart out on enchiladas.

Juniper stepped forward with a similar, peaceful smile that truly weirded Nico out. He scooted closer to Will, enjoying the way it made his muscles tense. "They're smiling like they just had sex. It's weird."

"Is that how you smile after sex? Like you had a relaxing bath? Dude. Step it up."

Nico whirled around. "What? No! That's not – I wasn't -,"

"Shh, they're beginning," Will whispered, grabbing Nico's shoulders and spinning him around. Nico ignored the flair of heat in his veins.

"Okay. Let's begin…"

An hour later, Nico really didn't expect to be caught in any of the positions they did. He was on his back, watching Will push one of his legs toward his chest. Pain flared in his hamstrings, but Nico didn't stop him. With a slight smile, he watched as Will's face grew more serious by the second.

"H-how are you so, uh, flexible?" Will gulped as Nico's leg hit his chest. Their faces were inches from each other, and the flush in Will's cheeks made Nico grin.

"This isn't just a yoga position, Sunshine," Nico said. Will's pupils visibly darkened. His entire body stiffened.

"Dammit, di Angelo, next time? Wear sweatpants."

Will let go of his leg to pull his shirt down and adjust _something _in his exercise shorts.

"What? Something…bothering you?" Nico winked, shifting his hips upward. Will gulped. "I don't know, Will. The longer we're like this…this position is a little _hard_." Will looked like he was facing death itself, and Nico found that oddly inspiring for his dirty thoughts. "Come on, Solace. Go deeper. I like a little pain."

Expecting a giggle or eye roll, Nico was both mentally and physically thrown when Will huffed hotly and threw his leg to the side, silently storming out of the room. When he looked up, Piper was staring at him with irritation.

Groaning, Nico slipped away after Will, sighing with relief as he saw the angry man walking up the halfpipe. The lights were on in the otherwise dark night. Nico wrapped himself up in his coat as snugly as possible, hating that he gave Will enough time to throw on his actual boarding jacket. By the time Nico made it near the half pipe, Will was halfway up it.

"Hey! Where are you running to, Sunshine?"

Will refused to look back, but he did raise his hand and flip him off. Huffing, Nico sat in a crouch. He'd have to come down eventually. Will tried to wait him out, but Nico was a stubborn person, even if it felt like his dick was freezing off.

Finally, Will jumped down and began his run.

As always, Nico was just amazed. He moved effortlessly, mastering techniques that made Nico's heart quench without a thought. Still not reaching optimal height, he was limited to the number of rotations compared to Nico's, but it was somehow more impressive. The skill he squished into his limited time was perfect.

When he made it to Nico, he began to steer away from him, but Nico began to jog after him. "Don't think I won't tackle you!"

Will hesitated, glancing skeptically at Nico. Then, his shoulders sagged and he steered back to Nico, tugging off his helmet in the process. His eyes were cold, all joking and flirting from earlier gone away. "What do you want? Come here to toy with me more?"

Nico flinched back at that, surprise and disgust simultaneously on his face. "What are you talking about?"

Will rolled his eyes, and then he bent down to undo his boots. "I thought your flirting was fun, but clearly, it's just a game to you. And I don't enjoy being used for a laugh. I had plenty of that before."

"I – no, Will, that's not -,"

"Oh? Then what is it? You're actually into me?" Will scoffed, grabbing his board and straightening. "Or are you just trying to distract me? I'm not stupid, Nico. I'll see you at practice tomorrow."

"Will. Come on."

"Just forget it, Nico," Will mumbled, pushing past him, voice as exhausted and strained as his eyes looked. Nico's heart constricted painfully. He wanted to reach out to him, to explain that he'd never do any of that. He wanted to confess that he'd been in the closet all his career, that nobody knew about his interests aside from his sister and a few _carefully _selected men he'd been with. He wanted to say he'd never consider trying to get in his head.

But then, how would he prove it?

If he refused to come out of the closet, why would Will believe him? And more importantly, if he believed him, wasn't that messing with both of their heads regardless? Searching for love months before the Olympics was a recipe for disaster, but partaking in a secret, closeted relationship with your top competitor before the Olympics offered no chance of a happy ending.

So Nico let him walk away, sinking into the snow and trying to ignore the painful pounding of his heart.

. . .

They fell into a routine. Nico had abandoned any hint of flirting, going out of his way to second check every action and phrase before doing anything that would hurt Will. And slowly, they became friends. It was stressed and hesitant at the least, but it was more than Nico would say he had back home. They spent more time together than Jason did with Piper, and that was hard to beat.

It seemed effortless for Will now. He'd clearly gotten past his thing for Nico, all hopes going down the drain that night merely five months ago when Nico didn't correct him. When Nico didn't fight for him.

Everyone was gathered around after stretching. Well, everyone but Percy and Annabeth. They were in the corner, arguing about their newest topic of debate. Nico swore they spent more time arguing than he spent staring at Will.

"Alright. Next week is our last week here. I say we take the mountain by storm tomorrow to kick off our journey!"

That was how Nico found them all standing at the top of the mountain, staring into the haze of a light flurry of snow that obscured their view. They'd all taken a helicopter up top and now were just waiting on the sun to rise. Nico took a seat next to Will, nudging closer to make it seem like he was preserving body heat. Without the sun, even in their gear it was chilly.

"Just wait. The view is beautiful," Nico grinned. Will turned his head, eyes misty and unfocused but still so bright.

"Yeah?"

With a sheepish grin, he bumped his shoulder into Will's. "I don't know. You're like the sun yourself. Bring us a pretty view, Solace."

Will wiggled his eyebrows suggestively, "You're looking at it." Will instantly burst into laughter, but Nico's chest tightened, and he found the joke not at all funny because of how true it was.

"Yeah. I am."

In all their time together, Nico avoided the topic of his sexuality. It'd created a distinct border between them, unfortunately, but he just didn't have the heart to tell Will that he was hiding in the closet while Will had to unwillingly endure the hardships of being a gay snowboarder. Nico was embarrassed by how unfair it was. So he tried to avoid saying too much or looking too long or anything that would out him to Will.

Sometimes, he slipped up.

Will's frown was instantaneous. He glared into the snow, kicking at his board lightly. "Nico. Come on."

Nico sighed in exasperation. He let his head fall and swing into Will's shoulder, but the blonde just turned away. "Why can't I compliment you?"

The only response he got was a groan. There was no real way for Will to make the argument that when Nico complimented him it was different. Nico understood that he probably sent off the sexual vibes, but he still didn't know why it would affect Will that much.

He didn't have long to dwell on it, though, because soon the sun was up and a low buzzing was on them. Nico looked around but was disappointed to find the clouds still blocking most of the view. Will, however, seemed to continue straining, taking in everything. When he turned to Nico, finding the dark haired boy already staring at him, the grin on his face lit up the sky like the sun clearly could not.

"Wave to the cameras, guys!" Percy yelled, staring up at what looked like three drones.

"What are they doing? How are they even up this high?" Jason asked, shocked and confused.

"It's the Olympic committee. They get whatever they want in order to promote us," Nico snorted. "Who called them?"

Annabeth pulled down her goggles after flashing them a smug smile. "Me. More money that can go into putting fucking lights on the mogul practice," she huffed. "Let's go, Jackson."

"Wait, let me get my gog-,"

"Hope you can keep up!" Annabeth shouted as she took a plunge off the steep incline that was essentially a cliff. Percy gulped as he struggled to go after her. One drone followed them expertly.

Piper waved, grabbing Jason and shoving him in the direction of the drop off, and before Nico or Will could utter a word, they were left alone on the mountain, wind howling loudly around them. They pulled on their goggles, both glancing hesitantly at each other.

"You ready, Sunshine?" Nico grinned, pulling his face cover up around his lips.

Will did the same in a challenging manner. "Absolutely. Be careful. Don't want to mess up that pretty face of your in front of the cameras."

"You wish," Nico snorted, intending to move forward without much more conversation, but then Will grabbed his hand, pulling him closer. Through their low light goggles, their eyes met, and Will seemed very serious suddenly.

"I'm serious. Be careful. I intend on us two on the podium. Not some country with crazy colors. Okay?"

Nico rolled his eyes. "Of course. We've got each other's backs, alright?"

Will offered a hesitant smile. "Always.

"Until Beijing. Then, you better watch out," Nico challenged. Will giggled in the way he did when he was having too much fun.

"Aw. You're too in love with me to sabotage me," Will laughed, like it was the funniest thing in the world. Nico's smile slipped from his face.

"I think I may be, yeah." The words were out of his mouth without thinking, as if he were agreeing what movie he wanted to watch rather than professing his possible love for his hot competitor. Will's smile faded away as he watched Nico's face pale, horror slipping onto his expression. It was just Nico's shitty luck that Will would think he wasn't joking the one time he really slipped up. "I – yeah."

Then, Nico hopped to the edge and jumped without a thought. He was lucky he'd been boarding all his life or the sudden drop would have had him tumbling down the hill. He heard Will vaguely behind him, asking him to wait up. Nico couldn't though. His adrenaline was pumping and every instinct in him told him to _get away._He'd probably just scared off the biggest crush in his entire life.

Nico tried to forget about how much of an idiot he was. The slope was already challenging enough without him not entirely focused. This was good footwork for them, and definitely an intense workout. It certainly helped him try to perfect his skill. He'd always been weaker at hitting things perfectly, and that was why it didn't surprise Nico but certainly did infuriate him, when Will zoomed past him.

Nico wanted to choke and die in an avalanche suddenly.

Watching Will disappear into the trees, Nico did nearly fall, which would have been the worst because the slope was so steep, Nico was sure he wouldn't be getting back up for a long, painful time. Thanking the gods for looking out for his idiotic self, Nico followed Will into the trees. The drone shifted to above Nico, but the trees were so spread out that it still got a shot of him. Then, it moved on to Will, who was trying to exit the trees up ahead. Nico saw the exit he was going for, but it was not a good one. The jump back into the open slope was too steep.

"Will! No!" Nico shouted, but it was too late. His course was set, and Nico watched in horror as Will soared into the air with his back parallel to the ground. Unprepared for such a jump, Will twisted midair, desperate to find his center of gravity and failing horribly. He hit the ground directly on his back, and then he skidding out of sight. Nico's throat sank to his stomach, and Nico felt equal urges to cry and scream. Instead, he quickly found a safe exit and searched for Will.

It was all white haze due to the increasing snowfall, and Nico shouted out with fear, horrified that he'd never find Will, but there was no response. Then, the sight of the drone rapidly moving up and down in the air caught his eye, and Nico squinted at it, deciding to move in that direction.

Will had slid, board still intact, into a nearby tree. He was slumped against it, staring into the sky. At least, Nico hoped he was awake and staring instead of unconscious. He hurried over, unstrapping his boots and dashing to his side.

"Will! Fuck, Will, talk to me," Nico said, fingers slipping out of his gloves to pry at his goggles. "Will. I swear to fuck you better be okay. I'm _not _going to Beijing without you. I – _what the fuck_?"

When he finally got his goggles off, Will was staring at him, eyes twinkling with mischief. "Please continue, Neeks. I'm intrigued."

It was like the relief struck a nerve and suddenly, Nico was on top of Will, hugging him desperately, burying his face in Will's neck. "I hate you. I hate you so much."

"I thought you said you loved me," Will whispered, hot breath moving past his ear and sending a shiver down Nico's body.

Looking up with a glare, Nico found his eyes glistening. Will reached up with shaking hands and moved his goggles and face mask away, fully exposing how terrified Nico was. "I can do both easily," Nico bit his lip, voice teetering on the edge of breaking. "Don't scare me like that again. I thought -,"

"It's okay. I'm a little sore, but I'm fine," Will breathed, pulling at Nico until the boy fell back on his chest. They breathed heavily against each other for a few quiet, peaceful moments. "Did you mean it?"

Nico pulled back slightly, just enough to be able to look into the glossy blue orbs that shone so beautifully in reflection of the snow. Biting his lip, Nico nodded. "Yeah."

Will beamed, and that sight alone quelled his clenched heart. His hands ran through Nico's hair in a soothing pattern. "Good. Unreciprocated feelings suck ass."

Will's lips were so close Nico could instinctually sense it when he licked them. "I thought you hated me," Nico hissed, confused and painfully hopeful all at once. Now, even the cold stinging of his fingers or the way his throat burned didn't matter, not when his heart suddenly jumped again for the tenth time in the span of a minute.

"If you can do both, then so can I," Will mumbled as he inched his way closer, bringing those pink, Vaseline-coated lips essentially against his. And Nico couldn't take it. Releasing all restraints and running with the high of relief, Nico pressed Will back down into the snow, lips crashing onto his with an incessant need.

They were soft and greasy from the Vaseline, which was perfect for Nico's chapped and frozen lips. They moved against each other quickly, trying to catch up to the other without a direct goal in mind. Nico braced himself against the snow, but he didn't miss the way Will's hands caressed his face, holding him as if he was the most delicate thing in the world, and the affection surged within Nico, warming him from the core outward.

Nico darted his tongue out, wanting to taste Will before this chance disappeared again. It felt like this moment should last forever, and that the second it stopped, everything would crumble. It was all right here. Will was all right here.

When Will bit his lip and met his next kiss with his own tongue, Nico moaned, lower body pressing into Will's with pent up desire. Their thick layer of clothes hid it all, but even the idea of grinding his body against Will's was enough to get his head spinning.

However, Will cried out sharply, and Nico was off him in seconds. "What? What hurt?"

He winced, hands falling down to his leg. "My hip. I hit the tree on my right side," he said, voice tight and breathless, like if he held it in he wouldn't be able to feel the pain.

"Shit. Can you walk?" Nico worried. He could not break his leg, not now. They were two weeks away from competing. They were _one _week away from traveling to the _fucking _Olympics. Nico was not going there without Will. There was no way.

"I hope," Will whispered, voice cracking.

"No. Shut up, Solace. Don't worry yet," Nico struggled to find his demanding voice when all he wanted was to cuddle him until he smiled. Now, in the freezing snow miles above any civilization, was not the time. "Come on. Try to stand."

"Nico," Will looked up, eyes startlingly bright. "What if I can't?"

"Will. _Shut up._" Nico hissed, nose scrunching in frustration. Will blinked again, slowly, and then he nodded, muttering to himself as Nico extended a hand. He pulled him up on his good leg, and when Will put weight onto his other, he winched, nearly falling but, thankfully, not. "Will?"

Breathing deeply, face crumpled in obvious discomfort, Will nodded. "I'm fine. Not broken. Just gonna leave a hell of a bruise. Probably as big as Gus Kentworthy's was at his Olympics."

Nico snorted. "Hot guys act alike, I suppose."

Will's eyes flashed with a challenge, and Nico got the message quite clearly. _Why didn't you tell me you're gay?_

To which Nico would only have his stupidity and fear as his defense.

"Take it slow, okay? I'll be right behind you."

Will nodded, pulling on his goggles and flexing his knee experimentally. "Nico?" He'd already begun putting his gloves and goggles on, but he turned to Will anyways, eyebrow raised in expectation. "Kiss me?"

Nico grinned, leaning over as Will did and pressing their lips together chastely. The motion sent electricity shooting through his body, and he knew he'd have no trouble with stamina while getting down the rest of the mountain.

"See you at the bottom, babe," Will called behind with an evil glint before turning and going down the slope.

And if Nico grinned the whole way down, well, it was worth the chapped and bleeding lips.

* * *

**A/N: Oops, went missing for minute. I think it's done, but I feel like it needs a little kissing/possibly smut scene? Thoughts? Who would want to see some? We'll see... anyways, leave your thoughts please! i love hearing what readers think!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Part 3**

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything. **

* * *

They got Will checked out by their team doctors, but Nico was ordered to go back to slopestyle and work on his techniques with Piper. It was very rare when Piper was in a giving mood, and so far, Chiron's teaching had only improved his skill by so much. Nico was still just lacking in that aspect. He couldn't really pass up a chance to get some tips. He could do every skill Will or any other boarder could on slopestyle, but he always lost points somewhere in minor infractions.

Piper was meticulous.

So he had to abandon Will for the evening. All he could think about was if he'd be okay, and Piper caught on to it. Normally, she'd be a supportive person in the name of love, but when it came to skill work, she wasn't letting up. Honestly, she tore Nico a new one even worse than she normally would.

They were walking together to their apartments when they first noticed.

Nico had been planning on finding Will and skipping yoga to take care of him, or at the least to just cuddle him until the pain went away. He wanted to, that was. He had no idea what Will wanted. He really had no idea, and that thought was just as scary as what Piper brought to his attention.

"Nico…what happened on the slopes today?" Piper asked in a hesitant tone, implying she already knew. Nico glanced at her skeptically. He was a superb liar. He had to be. There was no reason for her to know.

"Will fell. Took a shit sharp jump," Nico said as if she were dumb because they'd all gone over that at the base of the mountain. Her kaleidoscope eyes only grew bigger as she shook her head.

"They saw, Nico," she whispered. Piper had stopped walking altogether. He was about to ask her what she was talking about, even though a pit in his stomach had already begun to form, but then his phone began to buzz. Through a quick glance, he could see it was Will. Before he could answer, Piper gripped his wrist and thrust her phone under his nose. "Nico. They saw you two."

His palms quickly began to sweat despite the frigid air, and as his eyes skimmed over the article, his pulse started racing. The title was "Second Olympic snowboarder Nico di Angelo _gay? _Will Solace caught lip-locking another guy?"

Images shot from the sky of Nico and Will lazily kissing in the snow from that day. Skimming the article, all he saw were repeated words, over and over. And he knew Piper would only show him the _nicest _article about him.

_gay_

_homosexual_

_olympic stars turning gay_

_kissing a guy_

_star crossed lovers_

_closet_

_hiding_

_scared_

_nico di angelo_

_will solace_

_shocking_

The words slowly started to disappear, but then, so did everything else. He looked at Piper, suddenly remembering he needed air, and then he wasn't able to stop taking sharp, useless breaths. His lungs felt like they were going to burst. He needed air, but he couldn't get it.

He stumbled to the ground with Piper shouting over him, telling him to breathe, to take slower breaths, but it was impossible. He had no control. He'd lost every ounce of control left in his life. He couldn't even breathe properly.

His eyes were swimming, and the world was tilting on its side. Clenching his eyes shut, Nico tried to stop the words from swimming across his vision, but they wouldn't.

Piper was screaming, but he didn't hear a thing. Then, he didn't even see a thing. All his senses faded away, and he was only left with just his thoughts and the knowledge that nothing was in his grasp. Everything was out of control. The whole world knew he was gay and they were going to hate him. They'd call him a coward. They'd call him a liar. They'd call him gross and a disgust to the snowboarding community. He'd lose all his boarding friends. He'd lose everything, just like Will did.

. . .

Smelling salts woke him up.

He was in his own bed, and it seemed like the entire Olympic team stood before him.

"I'm just saying. We easily could have used Leo's boots."

Nico scowled at that, blinking rapidly to try and focus in on the faces. "What -?" He couldn't get a word out before choking on his raspy, cracked voice.

"Here," said Chiron, handing him a cup of water. His eyes were softer than they normally were, and it freaked Nico out. He scooted further away and took in everyone around him. Leo, Jason, Piper, Percy, and Annabeth all watched him closely. "How are you feeling?"

After taking a large drink, Nico scowled. "Fine. What's going on?"

Jason's eyes softened, and that wasn't the craziest thing in the world, but when even Annabeth looked at him with a little pity, he felt the need to be guarded. Then, when he looked at Piper, his mouth dropped into a small 'o' because he suddenly remembered. He remembered reading that article and trying to breathe. He remembered the words of shock and the panic attack restricting him of any air. He remembered seeing the control slip from his hands and the way the world looked as it faded into black.

"No…" he mumbled, feeling his eyes grow wetter with embarrassment. "Fuck." His head fell back on the pillow, hands covering his eyes as he tried to get a handle on his emotions.

"Nico," Jason said firmly. "It's okay, you know that, right? Being gay is okay."

"It's really something to celebrate," Piper added, her voice taking in a calming tone.

"Anyone who hates on you for it is merely ignorant and insignificant," Annabeth assured.

"Yeah," Leo said helpfully. "I mean. It's 2018. People need to get with the times."

"I'm a little offended you didn't hit on me, to be honest," Percy sighed with dismay, and that was his breaking point.

Nico threw his arms off his face and shouted, "Get out! All of you! Now!"

He was met with shocked faces, and Jason seemed to linger, but Nico only curled his lip. Chiron stayed, and Nico supposed that was okay. He figured he couldn't exactly yell at his coach, though now was the best time to do so. Instead, he turned his back to him and tried to keep the tears in for however long Chiron took to dish out whatever motivational speech he deemed necessary.

"Your sister has been calling constantly. As has Will Solace."

Nico nodded slowly, feeling tears slip down his cheeks. It felt like a hole was searing its way into his chest. The burn was the only thing keeping him alive, but it was killing him at the same time.

"I gave Will your phone," Chiron went on. "He's been through this, and he wants to help you. I know this a personal issue, but I strongly advise not going through it alone."

Nico wanted to rip his throat out. He didn't want to talk to Will or anyone. He wanted to wallow in his sorrows on his own. He didn't want any of this.

"And you're under my training, so my order goes. If you don't go see him soon, I'll bring him in here, and he has been ordered to not put any weight on his leg while recovering, so he'd stay here."

Nico growled. "Fine. Fuck, whatever."

He threw the covers off him and shoved past Chiron, refusing to look at him. He was already tired of the pitying looks. If Will gave him the hint of one he was leaving. He was grabbing his phone and leaving.

When he opened the door, Will was sitting upright, talking to Piper. He looked concerned, but the moment he took Nico in, his expression went blank. Patient, even. He peered at him in question, waiting. And there was something about the calm, forgiving, open look in his eyes that did it for Nico.

"Piper, I think it's best if you leave," Will hissed, making the pounding in Nico's ears enhance even more. It was like a damn broke, and soon, Nico was storming over to Will, tears streaming freely down his face, and burying his face into his side, trying to block out the sound of the world.

"Yeah. Yeah, you've got him," Piper squeaked, hurrying away and closing the door softly behind her. The moment she was gone, Will scooted down and wrapped his arms around Nico.

"Shh, it's okay," he assured, running a hand through Nico's hair. "It's going to be fine, Nico. I promise."

Nico felt a sob rip its way up his throat. "You _ran _away from your life, Will," he cried, voice muffled against his neck. "It will _not _be fine."

A hand was on his back, rubbing smooth circles that worked their way into his breathing. His sobs turned into small whimpers, soft enough to clearly hear Will as he whispered against the top of his head, "I know. I ran and I came here and it was so much better. I got to clear my head, and then I found you, and everyone else here. And you all were so accepting, Nico. It was like a breath of fresh air. The people who really matter won't care, Nico. I swear."

Nico shuddered against his side, but he forced his eyes open to look at Will questionably. His blue eyes spoke of sure truth. "I s-saw all the comments on Instagram and twitter. There's so many who think you – _we_are disgraces to snowboarders. That 'our kind' shouldn't even be competing."

Will ran a hand down his arm, kissing his cheek and fighting off the sickening feeling growing in his stomach. "They don't matter. There are always going to be people who hate people for _no reason. _And it's not fair, but we're smarter than them. We're not going to let them affect us and our futures. Okay?"

Nico took a shaky breath, finding his tears have finally stopped. He didn't fight Will off when his fingers lifted Nico's chin until they were looking at each other. Eyes connected, Nico had never felt so vulnerable before. "Okay?" Will repeated.

"Okay," Nico nodded, trying to find the courage that Will had inside him. It was enough, though. A soft smile slipped onto his perfect lips, and then Will pressed his lips against Nico's, and suddenly Nico felt stupid for worrying so much. He kissed him back softly and surely. This was what he liked. This was what he loved. Nothing in the world could get him to change that, and nothing in the world could enforce shame for that. He loved this, so he was going to do what he loved.

"Better?"

Nico shrugged, tightening his arms around Will's chest as he rested his head against his chest. "A little."

When Will laughed, it shook his entire world, and it was the best feeling he'd felt all day. His lips pressed to Nico's forehead, and Nico believed that was the only thing that mattered. They lied there like that for ten minutes of silence, just taking each other's warmth in. Then, a horrible thought crossed his mind, and Nico shot up.

"Can you still compete?"

Surprised by the question, Will slowly smiled. "Yes. I won't get to train much before we leave, but I can compete. It's just a nasty bruise."

Nico bit his lip. "Can I see?"

Will blushed, flashing him a wink as he slowly pushed off the covers. "You just want to see me in my underwear."

"No," Nico said quickly. "I mean. _Yes obviously. _But not – just shut up you smug bastard."

Will's laughter was so pure it made Nico's heart feel less like lead. He quickly pulled down his sweats and underwear, just enough so Nico could see the essentially black bruise covering most of his thigh and hip area. Nico winced in sympathy.

"Ouch," he mumbled, finger running lightly across the discolored skin. A shiver ran down Will, and he quickly pulled his pants up, cheeks red and eyes dark. Nico had to hold back a grin. "Oops."

Will snorted, running a hand through his hair. "Yeah. 'Oops.' Just like the yoga oops. Or the shamelessly undressing in front of me oops. Or the showing off your hot tricks oops."

Nico smirked at him as he rolled so he was lying on Will's good side. "Hey. I was trying to send secret signals. Duh."

Will lughed softly for a bit, but it fell away peacefully. His hand was on Nico's back, rubbing circles underneath his shirt in a manner than made him want to fall asleep. "You could have told me, you know. I would never say anything." Will gulped. "Fuck. If you want, I'd be willing to say I kissed you on the slopes and-,"

"No," Nico said firmly. "No. The damage is done and…well, it needed to happen. I just wished it could have been in my own way."

Will hummed. "Me too," he sighed. "You still can. I made a post on Instagram. It was the sappy shit you'd expect, but it was mine." Nico bit his lip, remembering going through his pictures and reading the post. It was the last one he'd posted, and the comments were mixed. The snowboarding community was _really _straight, less forgiving guys than other sports. There was support, but there was also a lot of backlash. "Do you want to?"

Nico pursed his lips. "Yeah. Give me my phone."

The tweet _I'm gay. Get over it. And don't get butthurt when a gay guy wins gold this year ;) _was trending on twitter by the next morning.

. . .

The opening ceremony was, to say the least, out of this world. Nico didn't think he'd ever experienced anything like that before.

The National Olympic Committee had an individual meeting with Will and Nico, along with other non-straight Olympic competitors. They said they were wary about their safety in China due to the fact that it was only legalized in 1997. Of course, they didn't out rightly say to not flaunt their homosexuality, but the urge was there. After both of their meetings, Will and Nico decided to do the opposite and flaunt their relationship and little bit more than they'd previously intended.

That was how they found themselves walking in the opening ceremony with an arm around each other and stopping every now and then to quickly kiss each other's lips. In all honesty, each kiss made the ceremony all the more real. He was _here _and he was out and _himself._

It was magical.

. . .

The morning of their final runs was cold. Luckily, the snow had held off so everyone could see. Nico and Will made it into the lineup for halfpipe without a hint of a complication. Nico barely scarped into the finals for parallel giant slalom, but Will made it with ease. So far, their time at the Olympics had consisted of great runs. They watched Percy and Jason battle their way into their finals, which would occur later in the evening. They watched Piper win silver, which conveniently matched the silver feather braided into her hair. Silena and Beckendorf didn't medal in their partner figure skating, but they skated beautifully enough to bring tears to Will's eyes, which Nico gladly pointed out. The most shocking thing had to be watching as Annabeth, of course, won gold an hour ago. The moment she got down the hill, Percy jumped over the boundary, and she willingly jumped into his arms. The cameras got them kissing and everything, calling them the cutest couple the Olympics has seen so far.

Which was aggravating.

The shock of realizing Annabeth's threats had been foreplay this whole time was the only thing that kept Nico from pouting. He personally thought Will and he were the cutest couple. Then again, they hadn't made a public appearance since the opening ceremony, which most cameras seemed to glance over. Now wasn't exactly the time to be pondering that, but he was. It was too early on in their relationship to post about Will online, and it wasn't like either of their social media accounts were stable enough for such a bold move yet, but Nico wanted to show Will off nevertheless, and the cameras were the best way to do so.

It was the only reason he agreed to do an interview an hour before both of their finals began. Will had complained to Chiron, but Nico just shrugged and said he would do it. Gaping, Will reluctantly said he'd join, too.

"Has the competition posed any trouble for you two?" asked the interviewer named Drew.

Will shrugged, offering them his stellar smile. "Competition is healthy for us."

"Yeah," Nico smirked. "Plus, he knows if he beats me that I let him. I haven't decided what to do yet."

"Shut up, Nico," Will giggled, slinging his arm around his shoulders and tucking him into his side. "Training together has helped us, as well. We both have such different styles."

"That's right," Drew said. "Like how Will's the straight-acting gay and Nico's the 'how did we not already guess'-acting gay."

Will's jaw dropped, and Nico wanted to mirror his expression. His blood began to boil, but he reminded himself they were on national television. "I was talking about our boarding styles. I fly high, but he focuses more on technicalities. Ring a bell? Or does your small brain not comprehend snowboarding lingo?"

Drew blinked, and Nico had no doubt she was trying to process his question.

"Great reporter, guys," Nico said sarcastically. He then shoved the camera out of the way and pulled Will up toward the halfpipe. "That was a shit show."

Will's ungloved fingers ran through Nico's hair in a soothing manner. "It was," he admitted. "But at least we didn't look stupid. That was pretty hot, how you told them off."

Nico snorted, looking at him out of the corner of his eyes. "Sure."

"Seriously," Will stopped walking when they reached the top where the rest of the competitors were warming up. "Thank you, Nico. That's something I never did, but I definitely should have."

He didn't know how to respond to that, so Nico settled with letting his reddening cheeks press against Will's slightly exposed shirt. It was a thermal layer, so he could still feel the heat radiating off of him. "You're my sun," Nico breathed, turning so his forehead pressed against his chest now. Will smelled like warm days and sweet cologne.

"Hey. I'm not into incest," Will quipped, to which Nico then reached out and pinched his nipple. "Ow! You don't get to abuse places you haven't shown kissed yet!"

Nico pulled back with a rueful grin, slinging his hands around Will's neck despite the stares he could feel on his back. "So only your lips then?"

As if on instinct, Will bit his bottom lip. "Yeah. Maybe we can change that after tonight."

A rush of heat filled Nico from the head down. He had trouble hiding the smirk on his lips. Just to get the nerves racing through him out of his system, Nico stood on his tip toes and kissed his lips, waiting to feel Will kiss him back before pulling away slowly. "Let's make it interesting-,"

"Oh, me fucking you isn't interesting enough?"

Nico shook his head. "It is, but I think the loser has to give the winner a little extra," he winked. "Whoever loses has to eat the other's ass."

Suddenly, Will threw his head back in laughter, and for a split second, Nico worried he'd gone too far. They briefly talked about sex on the plane ride over, about what they liked and didn't like, but this never came up. Then, Will leaned down and pressed his lips against his ear, the heat and slight brushing sending chills through Nico's body.

"Babe. I'd eat your ass regardless," he whispered huskily. Nico's fingernails dug into neck as he tried to keep his thoughts under control. "But you're on."

"Fuck me" Nico shuddered as Will finally pulled away, giving him breathing room. Around them, about half of their competitors were looking at them. His cheeks felt like they were on fire, but the only choice he had was to ignore them. His mind was honestly full of thoughts of his upcoming routine and of Will. There truly was no room for judgmental people whose opinions didn't actually affect Nico. Will made sure of that.

So he put his helmet on and readied for his run.

. . .

Nico flew through the air. He was so high up his stomach was doing flips alongside him every time he got a glance at the ground, but it was okay. He was prepared for this. He focused all his energy into grabbing his board and getting the extra points for a crisp move alongside the airtime bonus. This was it. This was his best shot at winning.

Wind rush through his helmet, past his ears, and around his body. His feet contacted the slope, and he bent his knees in preparation for his last move. This was it. This was his most technical move. This was what he was working on for months.

He pushed off the slope and rotated his body, following along with exactly where it wanted to go until he finished his third rotation. Then, he grabbed his board behind his back and held it for what felt like too long, but he'd calculated this time before. He could land it. He just had to hold on a second longer.

And then his feet hit the ground and the crowd around them _erupted._

It was like he'd run a trail of fire with how loud the crowd was. His eyes didn't know where to focus as he came to a stop. Chiron was standing by the host with a microphone, and he motioned Nico forward. Since he was in first overall, he was the last one to compete. He knew the score he had to beat – it was Will's. He'd gotten a nearly perfect score of 97.8.

Will was standing nearby, waiting as well, but he could see the uncertainty in his eyes.

Nico tore off his helmet and looked at him imploringly, holding out a hand. Shoulder's sagging in relief, Will jogged over to Nico, grabbing his hand firmly. It sent a clear message; no matter what happened, he'd be ecstatic.

And then, the score came in.

98.1

Nico froze solid, but everyone else around him burst into cheers. Suddenly, Will tackled him, lips pressing onto his, and it brought him out of his reverie. "You did it! Nico, you fucking won gold!"

Nico smiled up at him with the happiest smile he probably ever had. He fisted Will's shirt and pulled him back down, kissing him with fire this time, tongues running along the other in the briefest gesture before Will rolled off him and hoisted him back up. Chiron engulfed him in a hug, and then, he said, "We have a surprise for you."

Nico frowned, wondering what could possibly be of importance right now, but then he heard, "Fuck yeah! That's my brother!"

"Bianca!" Nico tore out of everyone's arms, running to meet his sister with tears in his eyes. She looked like a bloated popsicle in her bright outfit, but Nico didn't care. His black and green gear mixed with her pink and white coat as he hugged her to death. "I thought you couldn't come!"

"And miss my baby brother winning gold? Not a chance!" she laughed giddily. "That was amazing. I am _so_proud of you. For everything, too. You are so brave, Nico."

Nico was a sputtering mess as he wiped away more tears. For once, he wasn't embarrassed by them. "Thank you, but I did have help."

He looked over his shoulder to find Will, but then he saw a line of reporters, all eagerly waiting their turn to talk to him. Bianca caressed his cheek once more before saying, "You have your moments of fame while I go meet this wonderful boyfriend of yours!"

Before he could protest, she was off. And Nico was thrust into interviews.

Hours later, it was Will's turn to win gold.

Nico knew he didn't stand a chance in parallel giant slalom, but that didn't mean Will won it easily. In fact, he only beat China by 0.2 points, but he did it. The smile on his face lit up the entire crowd alone. Pride burst through Nico, and he couldn't wipe the grin off his face for so long that after they interviewed Will, a few came back around to Nico.

"How do you feel about this event?"

Nico beamed. "I'm very happy with it. Will worked so hard for this. He deserves it, through and through. He's amazing."

They laughed. "He said similar things about the halfpipe. I take it you're proud of your boyfriend?"

Nico didn't bother pointing out that they hadn't talked about whether or not they were official. It'd be pretty hard to convince the world of anything else. "Extremely proud of him.

"So – oh, here he is now! Will Solace!"

Will blinked, noticing Nico standing in front of a camera and joined him, slinging an arm around his shoulders. "Will, what were your thoughts right after you won?"

Nico's fingers tickled his side briefly, and that was probably what caused Will to smirk and stare at Nico as he spoke. "Oh, no question, I thought about Nico and what he owes me tonight."

Nico pulled apart with a loud gasp. "We never said that deal applied to both!"

"I got gold just as much as you, didn't I?"

Nico faltered for half a second before he fell back into Will's arms, burying his face away from the cameras so they wouldn't get his blush. "Fuck you," he groaned.

"Well, if you want," he said mischievously, forcing Nico to reach up and smack him lightly.

"What this infamous deal we're hearing about?" the interviewer asked eagerly, and Nico looked up at Will with a smirk.

"Why don't you take this one, babe?"

* * *

**A/N: I didn't do a smut scene bc I just didn't think it fit at the end. I think the story is complete here, unfortunately. I tried, but every attempt was just unneeded. I do have other stories by them that have smut in them, though, so check them out (my fav is Basketball Stars;). Anyways, please let me know your thoughts on how this ended. I tried to make this moving, to some degree. Idk. I am not a giant fan of how it ended mainly bc there wasn't the fun stuff going on during the games, but I think it worked best for this story like this. **

**SO leave me your thoughts! And I take requests for short stories, too, btw :)**


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